I'm reviewing The Muse...

...by Jesse Burton

As soon as I knew that Jessie Burton had a new book out I wanted to read it.  I'd enjoyed her first book, The Miniaturist and the TV adaptation so much that I was determined that I would not miss out on her second.  Cut to my local reading group, and I find the book is on the list for us all to read and discuss.  What great luck, I thought.

Beginning in June 1967 we meet the central character, Odelle Bastien who is currently working in a shoe shop.  Having come to the UK from Trinidad with her friend Cynth, Odelle, finds herself living in a vibrant and changing London of the now called 'swinging sixties'.  But Odelle has ambitions and passions.  She's a writer at heart, and she has been well educated at home.  Working in a shoe shop was not exactly what Odelle saw as her future.

A month later, on a hot July day, Odelle visits the Skelton Art Gallery in search of a new job.  She meets Marjorie Quick, tall, slim and enigmatic, and Odelle is employed as a typist.  As she settles into her new role, she realises there is more to running an art gallery than she envisaged.  When a lost masterpiece turns up, Marjorie Quick's behaviour changes dramatically and unexpectedly. Odelle is determined to find out why.  From this point, the story begins to move forward in parallel in two separate time frames.

As with The Miniaturist, the attention to historical detail for both timeframes - the sixties and the latter half of the thirties - is exemplary.  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the life and times of London in the sixties through the eyes of Odelle and Cynth.  I very quickly warmed to both of the characters and their shared wit frequently brought a smile to my face.

As the story unfolds, hidden secrets arise, not just about the missing masterpiece but about the artist and other works by the same artist too.  I loved the way the plot of this novel was carefully and teasingly pieced together.  It made me question the place and the truth of art in society.  It kept me reading and kept me guessing right to the very end.
I found this book a delightful and entertaining read with an easy flowing narrative and I'm already looking forward to whatever will be the next book from this author.